Heavy machinery equipment are used in excavation, demolition, construction, and similar activities. The parts of heavy machines used for digging are exposed to a great amount of wear in operation. For instance, the bucket of an excavator can be used to dig, rip, crush, cut, or lift dirt, rock, concrete, metal, or other rugged materials, all of which constantly wear against and abrade the surface of the excavator's bucket.
Heavy machinery parts are expensive and time-consuming to maintain. To replace a worn bucket on an excavator, for example, a new bucket must be ordered and shipped, the excavator must be taken out of operation, the old bucket must be removed, and the new one must be installed. This requires significant time and effort, and workers are often injured during the replacement process, which usually involves sledgehammers and blowtorches.
Various attempts have been made to protect heavy machinery parts to avoid having to replace an entire part. For instance, there are abrasive wear elements that can be secured to the surface of an excavator bucket to protect that surface. However, many of these elements are welded or bolted on to the surface of the machinery part and can be difficult to replace once worn through. In wear elements which have bases and attachable wear plates, when the abrasive wear plate is worn, the engagement means securing the base to the surface is often also damaged and cannot be removed, which requires that the entire base be ground or cut off and replaced. An improved system for protecting heavy machinery equipment is needed.